Impact of inventory management practices on the operational performances of SMEs: review and future research directions

The aim of this research is to examine the connection between inventory management practices (IMP) and their impact on the operational performance (OP) of SMEs. This investigation is conducted through a systematic literature review, with a specific focus on the perspective of supply chain and Industry 5.0 technology. This study uses bibliometric analysis and Scopus to extract and process relevant articles from 2000 to 2023, employing advanced techniques like biblioshiny and VOS-viewer to identify influential elements. This review revealed valuable insights like five clusters, seven thematic areas, and four emerging research contents. These findings offer a roadmap for future theoretical and empirical research in both SMEs and large manufacturing industries. Notably, SMEs’ operational performance is impacted by knowledge of high-tech technologies like IoT, big data, and ML, aiding in inventory cost reduction. The study’s innovation lies in integrating bibliometric analysis and systematic review, examining the crucial link between IM practices and SMEs’ operational performance, and identifying research gaps and emerging trends for further exploration and enhancement in operations research.